Mexico finalizes a new Gaming and Lotteries Law
Mexico is close to debuting a new Federal Law on Gaming and Lotteries. The head of the Ministry of Interior (Secretaría de Gobernación), Rosa Icela Rodríguez, reported that the reform is in the final stage of its internal review and is about to be presented to the security cabinet, in an initiative aimed at modernizing a legal framework that has been in effect since 1947.
During a press conference held by President Claudia Sheinbaum, Rodríguez specified that the proposal arose from a direct instruction from the president and is the result of two years of work between the Ministry and various federal government agencies. The official also stated that she met with the holders of industry permits and delivered a direct warning: she asked them not to corrupt Ministry personnel, under threat of closing businesses and of those who accept money ending up in jail, and in return, she offered to regularize the situation of injunctions and other pending procedures.
Rodríguez acknowledged that there are problems in the sector, although she located them outside the administrative scope of the Ministry. She detailed that about twenty casinos linked to money laundering or tax fraud schemes were closed, but clarified that these sanctions depend on the Attorney General's Office (Fiscalía General de la República) and the Financial Intelligence Unit (Unidad de Inteligencia Financiera). She also asked business owners to pay taxes and respect the labor rights of their workers.
This move occurs in parallel with a tightening of anti-money laundering rules. In August, the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público) published new general rules for the law on the prevention of operations with illicitly sourced funds, in order to align the system with the standards of the Financial Action Task Force. This change fully impacts so-called vulnerable activities, which include gambling, contests, and lotteries, in addition to sectors such as real estate, jewelry, art houses, vehicles, and virtual assets.
The current Federal Law on Gaming and Lotteries dates back to 1947 and is the regulation governing the activity of casinos, betting, and lotteries in Mexico, a framework that the sector and authorities consider outdated given the development of gaming, especially its digital version. The reform being finalized by the Ministry of Interior seeks precisely to replace this scheme with one adapted to the current reality of the industry.
Tags: Ministry of Interior, Federal Law on Games and Lotteries, Rosa Icela Rodríguez, Anti-money laundering rules in Mexico